Summer is here, and that means the bugs are out in full force – both the insects in my backyard and the injury bug in MLB.
This week, it seems most major injuries are hamstring strains. Sorry, Munetaka Murakami, Elly De La Cruz, and Teoscar Hernández. If there were a magic spray I could use to keep the injury bug from biting you the way it works on mosquitoes while I mow the lawn, I would’ve doused you with this magical, hypothetical elixir ages ago.
Let’s take a look at how MLB teams are addressing their summertime roster challenges and who’s gaining and losing playing time.
Pavin Smith returned to the Dbacks’ lineup on Monday night. He’d been out since late March after undergoing a procedure to remove bone chips from his elbow. He was immediately plugged back into the middle of the lineup as the designated hitter. Like in recent years, you can expect Smith to be Arizona’s primary DH against right-handed starting pitchers.
Smith’s return will almost certainly end the fantasy relevance of Adrian Del Castillo. He’ll be back to his standard backup catcher duties, so you can safely drop him in pretty much all formats.
Ildemaro Vargas has cooled down from his early-season heater, and has moved down the lineup. He was hitting fifth most days, but has recently moved down to seventh in three of the last four. After posting a 202 wRC+ in March/April, he plummeted to a 48 wRC+ in May. I’d make contingency plans if you have him rostered.
Michael Harris II’s huge season has him up to second in the batting order, especially against righties. He’s hit there in three straight overall, but in five of the last six against right-handed starters.
I was very excited about Ha-Seong Kim as Atlanta’s starting shortstop this season, but he’s gotten off to a miserable start (.089/.180/.089), and the team is cutting his time in the starting lineup. Manager Walt Weiss assigned the blame to injuries, causing Kim to miss spring training, and said that during his time out of the lineup, he’s working on his approach at the plate in the batting cages. With Kim not playing much, Jorge Mateo has seen his time increase. He’s started five straight games, three of which came at shortstop. Kim will likely regain his starting role in due time, but in shallow formats, you can drop him.
Manager Craig Albernaz has promoted Coby Mayo in the lineup. The 24-year-old third baseman has moved up from eighth to fifth or sixth in three of the last four games. Mayo’s been getting into a groove at the plate recently, slashing .306/.390/.528 since May 13.
When Jackson Holliday was initially activated, I mentioned here that he was being platooned against lefties. It looks like that was just a factor of easing him back into things. Holliday has started against three of the last four southpaws the Orioles have faced.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa has worked his way into the starting lineup with his .311/.378/.378 slash line. He’s started six straight games and nine of the last 11 at either second base, third base, or shortstop.
Rookie phenom Munetaka Murakami landed on the IL over the weekend with a right hamstring strain. The White Sox called up Jacob Gonzalez to take Murakami’s roster spot, and he’s started at first base against righties since making his debut. Gonzalez has never gained much traction in prospect circles, but he was crushing Triple-A pitching to the tune of a .317/.419/.668 slash line with 19 home runs and eight stolen bases. He may be worth a flier in AL-only leagues.
Reds’ superstar Elly De La Cruz will be sidelined for a few weeks with a hamstring strain. In the first game of his absence on Monday, manager Terry Francona shifted Matt McLain over to shortstop and plugged in freshly called-up Edwin Arroyo at second base. McLain will gain shortstop eligibility quickly, but he could be playing for his long-term starting job. He’s put up a measly 76 wRC+ since missing the entirety of the 2024 season, and if Arroyo hits the ground running, it could force some tough conversations about who should be the starting second baseman once De La Cruz returns.
Just as it looked like Edouard Julien was losing his role as the starting second baseman versus righties, he’s reclaimed it. After sitting for three of four against right-handers, he’s now started four straight.
Kerry Carpenter was activated from the IL on Sunday. His return to the scuffling Detroit lineup will likely cut into Wenceel Pérez’s time in the starting nine, and could fully eliminate the limited starts Jahmai Jones received at designated hitter.
We talked about Taylor Trammell returning to the starting lineup last week, but not only is he starting every day, but he’s also batting fourth. With a prime lineup spot, he should be added in 15-team and deeper formats.
As a result of Trammell’s prime lineup placement, Isaac Paredes has taken a few steps back. He’s hit fifth in two straight games.
We haven’t had to cover the Royals much in this column. They’ve had perhaps the most consistent lineup in the majors this year. The change this week is a small one — Carter Jensen has hit leadoff three games in a row. It’s likely only due to Maikel Garcia being day-to-day, but one of Jensen’s leadoff appearances did come with Garcia in the lineup hitting fifth, so we’ll have to stay tuned to see if this is a long-term change.
Nolan Schanuel’s ankle tendinitis sent the lefty first baseman to the IL last week. Vaughn Grissom has stepped into both playing first base and the number three spot in the batting order. Schanuel’s stay on the IL shouldn’t be lengthy — he’s already running and taking grounders again — but Grissom (.698 OPS) is worth a temporary add in deep fantasy leagues.
The Angels called up light-hitting Nick Madrigal from Triple-A last week. He’s started three of six games since joining the roster. It’s been five years since we’ve seen him put up a league-average wRC+ or hit above .263, so he’s safe to avoid outside of deep AL-only leagues.
With Teoscar Hernández on the shelf with a left hamstring strain, Alex Call is stepping into the Dodgers’ starting left fielder role. Hernández said he expects to miss about a month, making Call an interesting pick-up. The 31-year-old outfielder is a career 103 wRC+ hitter, but over 75 plate appearances in 2026, he’s slashing an impressive .290/.400/.371. He’s always had a good eye at the plate, but his 14.7% walk rate is a career high, making him especially interesting in points and OBP leagues.
What started as Andy Pages moving up the Dodgers’ batting order when the team was hit by injuries has turned into a permanent promotion. Pages has been the defending champs’ two-hitter for six straight games.
Pages’ promotion has meant a demotion for Mookie Betts, although not much of one. He’s slid down from hitting second to hitting fourth.
Manager Pat Murphy has made a change at the top of the lineup over the last week. Jackson Chourio has moved from leadoff to the two-hole, with Christian Yelich stepping up from cleanup to hit first. The Brewers have faced six straight righties, so it’s unclear if Yelich will stick at the top of the order versus lefties.
I mentioned Jared Young’s activation from the IL last week, and said he likely wouldn’t be an everyday player, maybe eventually a large-side-of-the-platoon hitter. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Young has started five of the six games in which he’s been on the big league roster, sitting out only against the one lefty the Mets have faced during that span. He’s hit fourth or fifth in all of those starts, making him worth consideration in plenty of fantasy leagues if your squad has a need at corner infield. Young is slashing .306/.381/.528 with two home runs in 42 plate appearances.
With Young seeing the lineup regularly at designated hitter, MJ Melendez is the odd man out. He’s started just two of the six games since Young was activated.
It appears that Anthony Volpe is back to being the Yankees’ starting shortstop. He’s started six of the last seven games for New York.
Manager Aaron Boone has been creative in his lineup construction to keep José Caballero involved daily, even with Volpe starting so often. He’s started eight of 10 games since his return from the IL, appearing at shortstop, third base, left field, and right field.
Konnor Griffin landed on the IL with a right elbow flexor strain. Jared Triolo has started all four games at shortstop since Griffin’s injury. Triolo has a career 84 wRC+, and has struggled even more this year to a .235/.271/.259 slash line. Outside of NL-only formats, you can avoid Triolo entirely.
The Pirates sent Esmerlyn Valdez back to Triple-A over the weekend, originally opening up some time for Jake Mangum and Jhostynxon Garcia in the outfield, but Ryan O’Hearn was activated from the IL on Sunday, and he’ll get most of the starting nods moving forward.
San Diego will be without Ramón Laureano for a bit due to the outfielder’s right hip inflammation. We’ve seen two lineups sans Laureano, and manager Craig Stammen moved Fernando Tatis Jr. back to the outfield grass to replace Laureano, with Sung-Mun Song gaining starts at second base. Song doesn’t have much MLB experience to analyze, but he was a dual-threat hitter in Korea, hitting 26 bombs while swiping 25 bags last year. That skill hasn’t translated stateside yet, and I’m not sure it ever fully will. Song is hitting .154/.290/.192 across 31 plate appearances.
The Padres called up Jase Bowen from Triple-A to make his MLB debut on Tuesday. It’s unclear how much run he’ll get in the big league lineup, but he was having a nice season for Triple-A El Paso, slashing .292/.362/.600.
Amidst a disappointing season, manager Tony Vitello has made some changes at the top of his lineup. Casey Schmitt looks to be in the middle of a breakout and has moved up to the leadoff role. Rafael Devers has inched up from fourth to second.
Jung Hoo Lee returned from his short IL stint last Friday and has immediately returned to the lineup, this time hitting in the middle of the order. He’s hit fifth or sixth in the four starts he’s made since being activated.
Harrison Bader is back on the IL. The Giants called up Jonah Cox straight from Double-A, and he’s made two straight starts in center field. Those starts both came against lefties, so it seems like we’ll see a platoon with Cox facing southpaws and Drew Gilbert getting looks against right-handers.
The Cardinals are making a change behind the plate. They called up prospect Jimmy Crooks from Triple-A to be the team’s primary option behind the plate. He was hitting .262/.412/.567 with 13 home runs in the minors, and is worth a look in two-catcher leagues. Ivan Herrera is set to remain behind the plate a few days a week, with Pedro Pagés moving into the third catcher role.
It’s been a rough 2026 for Nolan Gorman. The 26-year-old third baseman is slashing just .207/.290/.326, and has moved down from fifth to seventh in Oli Marmol’s lineup.
Nelson Velázquez was called up, and Cesar Prieto was sent down in a swap of bench bats.
Rays’ manager Kevin Cash has been playing around with the leadoff spot lately. Chandler Simpson has held the top of the order role against righties most of the year, but Cash has plugged Yandy Díaz into that spot against three of the last four righties the team has faced. Simpson’s .279/.313/.332 slash line is paltry compared to Díaz’s .314/.396/.529.
Hunter Feduccia has taken over the lion’s share of catcher at-bats. The 28-year-old backstop’s 97 wRC+ is degrees better than former starter Nick Fortes‘ 69 wRC+. Over Tampa Bay’s last 19 games, Feduccia has started 12 times compared to Fortes’ seven.
The Rangers brought in free agent Nicky Lopez to man second base. He’s started seven straight games for his new club, pushing Justin Foscue back to the bench, but Lopez’s time as a starter will likely be short. Corey Seager is on a rehab assignment, and Josh Smith is on the mend from viral meningitis.
Nathan Lukes returned from the IL last week and has cracked the starting lineup in six of seven games against right-handed starters. He’s hit first or second in each of his appearances. Davis Schneider was sent to Triple-A as the corresponding move to Lukes’ activation, and Yohendrick Piñango has been the outfielder to lose playing time, sitting out three of the last five.
Nasim Nuñez looks to be trending ever so slightly down in playing time. He’s only started four of the last seven games, with Jorbit Vivas joining the starting nine in his absence. Nuñez’s fielding and speed would keep him in the lineup if he could just be anywhere close to average with the bat, but he’s currently hitting just .193/.287/.216, good for a 50 wRC+.
